Tapes
by TheLovelyStarlight
Summary: Steven knew of the second tape her Mother and father had made in case he was ever born a girl instead of a boy. It said Nora on it. What he didn't know where the others buried underneath the sand... (one shot)


_Tape two: Nora._

It was a name his father had told him would be his if he was born a girl. To Steven, it made sense. All parents need to pick two names just in case you don't know the gender, so it made prefect sense that his mother and father gave him such two awesome names. Steven was great and Nora was pretty. The hybrid would have been happy with such a name if he was a girl instead of a boy. All was well knowing that after finding the copy tape his mom had in her dump.

That's how it ended, or else how it should have ended. Steven believed Greg's story, but as he went through the old hot dump Rose Quartz had kept things became more odd. Stuff became much more confusing.

_Tape three: Alva_

_Tape four: Holden_

_Tape Seven: Ellis_

What? What where these? Steven found them deep in the hot and burning yellow sand, the tapes much more older for some reason. Who were these kids? Maybe more names his mother had made wile planning him, but still it confused the hybrid. He took the three home with him, playing them on his TV only to find them to be the same as his own and Nora's. The same scenes play out, but the name Rose speaks of is different every time. Greg making a silly dance and Rose laughing in the back round, his dad wearing glasses and playing his guitar in a silly fashion. Even the scene when his dad was scared by a seagull was the same but only his mother's words placed differently. Each one with a different name and sense of love behind them. More names she was picking out, but then why would she need to make more of theses? He didn't see them to be any different than his own tape, but yet something was leaving a very confused feeling in his gut.

He hid them under his bed, riding Lion back to the dump to see if their were more. He dug for a while, pulling out more tapes and new numbers. The names were faded but all seem to be the same as before.

_Tape Eleven: Ryder_

_Tape Twenty Seven: Elizabeth_

What... What was going on? Twenty Seventh tape? Steven shook his head, taking them back home with him as he played the tapes. Again, they were all the same as before. Same moments and laughter, same messages and same seagull. Only his mother's words were different, and it honestly made him feel even more worried than before. The hybrid was so confused as to why his parents were make so many of these. He was sixteen for pet sake, how could his dad not tell him about these? Maybe he just doesn't remember making these ones as deeply as his and Nora's, but even so this was a bit extreme.

Shaking his head, Steven took the tapes to his father's van. Greg was just washing the cars parked up in his drive way, smiling without a care in the world as his son walked up. "Dad..." He called out, nervous and hoping for answers. "Can you help me? I have tons of questions."

"Oh, well shoot Stew-ball. What's wrong?"

Steven pulls his father to his van, pulling out the tapes as they sat inside and were alone. He pulls up the one named Ryder, showing his father with confusion. "Dad, do you remember making this tape with mom?"

Greg, shocking his son, all but tipped his head and tape the sandy tape in his hands. "Ryder...? Can't say that I do steven. Why? Where did you find these?"

"Dad, I found these where I found the one for Nora. They're all the same, everyone one of them with you and mom. Are you sure you never made these," Steven was hoping that his dad would remember, but shook as the old man just shook his head.

"Sorry kiddo, but... I only made two with your mother."

Only two... but no that had to be wrong. Steven played them with his father, but Greg all but looked confused at the static he was getting on his end. The hybrid panicked, thinking he had broken them. "N-No! I know they were working a second ago!"

"Steven, calm down," Greg frowned, looking worryingly at his son. "Look whatever these tapes are, I'm sure your mom was just joking around. She did like my camera a lot. Just let it go Stew-ball."

He wanted to, he really did, but something was off with all of this. Why so many, and way such different names. Steven wanted to believe his dad, but he needed to see if there were more, and if so how many did Rose make. He went back to the Deseret, he found the dump much faster this time as he dug for more.

_Tape Six: Winter_

_Tape Fourteen: Lucas_

_Tape Twenty Three: Oliver_

_Tape Thirty One: Levi_

_Tape Twelve: Harry_

Five more, all the same but the number was growing bigger. Steven was even confused with all of them and the names. So random and no sense of them just being all copies. Levi's was the only one different, the seagull on his dad's stomach was gone. That was good right? It would have been maybe if it wasn't for the fact that his dad still got scared and jumped, even though there wasn't a seagull on his stomach. His mother laughed, she gave her message and the tape ended. That was weird...

He went back to find more, Lion not coming this time.

_Tape Eight: Marvell_

_Tape Thirty Five: Owen _

The number grew bigger, and Steven started to noticed that his dad wasn't sleeping this time like before. He was reading a book and enjoying it it seemed, there wasn't even a shout of shock. The tape was shorter. He went back again.

_Tape Twenty Two: Poppy_

_Tape Forty Seven: Blake_

_Tape T__hirty__ Eight: Parker_

_Tape Fifty Seven: Samuel_

_Tape Twelve: Alexei_

The kissing scene was gone. Where did it go, and why was his Dad looking more and more tired with every tape he found. Steven almost couldn't sleep at night there were so many different tapes. Why were there so many? Wait... where was the flash effects? They were gone too, and his mom, she stopped showing her face in the tapes. Just her voice, as soft and calming as ever.

Why did it bring him an unease feeling...?

_Tape Forty Nine: Ethan_

He hardly slept and the gems are getting worried. How long as it been, maybe a week or two at the most. Steven just couldn't keep track anymore, but he kept looking for the tapes. His dad noticed and tried to stop him, but he keeps getting away.

_Tape Sixty Seven: Cooper_

_Tape Thrifty Two: Amanda_

_Tape Fifty Seven: Eva_

_Tape Twenty Nine: David_

_Tape Nine: Maya_

_Tape Forty Nine: Jeremy_

_Tape Seventy Three: Quin_

There stopped being a beach. Honestly Steven just didn't notice it anymore. He stopped seeing the beach and his father a long time ago. It was static, and lots of it. It was so loud and annoying at times, like the tape didn't have anything recorded in the first place, but that wasn't true. Cause h always heard his mother laughing in the back of it. He heard her speak, heard her talk to her father like it was normal to see static, but his couldn't hear Greg anymore.

Connie tried pulling him out of his room, but he refused. They screamed at each other every time she comes over. The gems stop them before he starts to throw things. She stopped showing up. He forget when.

He went back to the desert... there's a big hole in it now.

_Tape Forty Four: Emit_

The static grew louder, all Steven could hear was Rose saying the names now. Lion is gone, and the hybrid made a door for his room now.

_Tape Nineteen: Jackson_

The screen is showing his mother again, but it's too static to fully see. She looks different, slightly more happier by the minute. Steven couldn't help but smile seeing her face again. Maybe she liked this name more.

_Tape Seventy One: Valerie_

He frowned... was Amethyst crying now? The gems look so upset, but he couldn't figure out why. Pearl seemed more nervous. Where did his dad go? Oh well, Steven found another tape. His mom stopped talking about them being becoming one. She just said the names, telling him how much he loved them. Still static.

_Tape Sixty Four: Aden_

_Tape Ten: Tiffany_

They were all for him. Steven realized that with every tape, his mother was talking to him. they were his and each name was his too. He was steven, Nora, Owen, Crystal, Eric, and even little Poppy. She said the names with such love.

The gems kept crying, they all cry and scream now. His dad came back, but he looks so pale. The hybrid was wearing gloves now. The sand had damaged his fingers from the digging.

He heard his mom say 'Tiffany'... then it cuts off.

The static was gone.

_Tape Sixty Four: Rosie_

What is going on!? Make it stop! Make it stop! Steven was losing his mind now! he wanted out! The gems were fighting and his room was a mess. The tapes are driving him crazy!

Out... He wanted out! Why was his door locked now!? He needed to stop watching these tapes!

His dad was in the hospital... he pushed him down the stairs.

Pearl is shaking all the time now, the gems are yelling at her.

The screen is just black, no sound or image to be seen. Rosie... what a cute name.

_Tape... Steven_

"Steven..." 

"We can't both exist... I'm going... to become half of you..."

"..."

"... I'm just glad that this time... it worked..."

"So many tries to be apart of you... be one with you..."

"..."

"Eighty tries... and yet nothing..."

"..."

"... Steven... you're going to become something wonderful..."

"You're going to be something new..."

"Something... E-Extraordinary!"

"..."

"..."

"..."

"A human being..."

"Take care of them Steven..."

"...All of them..."

The gems burst through the room, the door breaking on impact, Amethyst not even hiding back her full out terrified cries as Garent looked ready to pass out where she stood.

The once beloved room of their hybrid was trashed, with old tapes and clothing all over the place. The window was boarded up, making the room all dark and hard to see inside of. It reeked for sweat and smelled like something had died inside, but their was life and shallow breathing. They looked over on top of the bed in the center of the room. The sheets all torn and wrinkled, a blanket over the very pale face of their very own Steven universe. He was holding the remote in his hand, his body trembling as his eyes started clearly into the screen before him. They called to him slowly, but he didn't turn to face them. If anything, saying his name only made him shake and tremble more.

His face was deadly pale and covered in sweat, bags under his eyes and hair grown out to cover his face slightly. He wasn't wearing his shirt, showing the small cuts on his wrist and arms to show how the hot sand from the desert had damaged his body. His eyes were faded out and lifeless, but were now showing nothing but pure and utter horror at what he was seeing. The gems moved closer to the boy, but he made no move to look at them. The hybrid just gave shallow breaths, shaking and looking completely at the screen. As Amethyst grabbed the boy's cold and clammy hands from the remote, Garnet turned towards the screen.

She screamed, a sound that made even Amethyst's in comparison nothing close as they both looked at what Steven was watching blankly.

It was bodies.

Piles of bodies, young and looking to be children, all over the place in a tiny small room. They were dressed in cute little outfits with stars on them, most being pink. The bodies were all looking at viewer, but their eyes all grayed and glass like. Their skin was as gray and black as their eyes, arms looking limp as they stayed leaning against each other. They were all huddle together like brothers and sisters, each one in a small frozen smile as some even looked to have locked limbs and hands together. There was blood yes, but it all poured out of the same place around the stomach area. They all showed their stomachs gaping open and bleeding out, like something was shoved then ripped from their bodies. it looked painful with how the flesh and even bones of the ribs were shown, but they all held small smiles. Nothing more than broken dolls in a sweet but frozen poison.

They look was laying against the wall, above them laid these very words.

_"We love you Steven. Our baby brother."_

The gems look at the hybrid, but he just stared at the scene before him. He looked at each of their faces, seeing them look right at him with such cold and lifeless eyes. He let the remote fall, and slowly he let the his eyes move towards the date in the corner.

August 15, 2000

He smiled, he laughed, and finally... he screamed. 


End file.
